Sunset at Marimegmeg Beach

SGMT | Sunset at Marimegmeg Beach — Do yourself a favor. If you’re going to El Nido, set aside at least one day for beach bumming. Spend a lazy afternoon at Marimegmeg Beach and stick around for the sunset. You won’t regret it.*

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It was more bed weather than beach weather, the day we arrived in El Nido, but we didn’t want to waste the chance to spend the afternoon at Marimegmeg Beach. Never mind that the sun wasn’t likely to put in an appearance that gloomy day. Never mind that we weren’t likely to witness one of Marimegmeg’s spectacular sunsets. Plans are not plans which alter when they alteration find, as they say, and a little drizzle wouldn’t hurt us.

How we got to Marimegmeg Beach

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We found a tricycle driver — or rather he found us, standing outside the office of El Nido Paradise. Tricycle drivers have to hustle a bit in low season and Jack at first approached us with an offer to take us to Nacpan Beach for ₱1500 ($32). When we didn’t bite, he mentioned Las Cabanas — the other name for Marimegmeg Beach — and this time we eagerly agreed.

We paid the standard rate for a trip to Marimegmeg and back to the bayan — ₱300 ($6.40) for the whole tricycle, which can accommodate up to 4 people. I suspect we could have haggled it down but, hey, might as well support the local economy. The tricycle couldn’t take us all the way to the beach — the last few meters were just a narrow dirt road — but it was a short distance from the roadside to the beachfront and the walk didn’t take more than 5 minutes.

Beach bumming

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No doubt Marimegmeg would have been splendid in the sunshine but the cloudy skies didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the beach anyway. This was taken right in front of the Beach Shack…

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…which was where we hung out for most of the afternoon. Their carrot-pineapple cake was awful but it was a small price to pay for being able to overstay in their beachfront lounge chairs. And their shakes were good.

On the other end of the beach was Las Cabanas Resort, one of the first to set up shop in Marimegmeg, which is why the latter is sometimes called Las Cabanas beach. It’s pricier than the average El Nido accommodation so there weren’t too many people there.

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They had some of the most beautiful views though.

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Las Cabanas isn’t the only resort there now; several more are being built. Sustainability is a constant struggle in El Nido, and although they’ve hopefully learned some of the lessons of Boracay, it takes a lot of political and social will to say no to easy money. Either way, Marimegmeg is unlikely to stay unspoiled so go there while you can still enjoy it like this.

Sunset at Marimegmeg Beach

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As expected, there wasn’t much of a sunset that time we were there but it was still a peaceful, wonderful place to end the day in…

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…and even without color, beautiful.

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That last photo almost looked like it was in color to me (Did you see that thingy-experiment online last year that shows you how you can stare at a black and white photo and think it is in color?). You’re right it is just as beautiful.
Looks so tranquil. What flavor shake you did get? =)